It is unlikely that a groundhog killed your turkey. You can inspect the body for wounds. From the condition your turkeys appear to be in, I recommend harvesting them sooner rather than later.
Thank you Bob. The turkey had so many flies and rigamortis had set in so I thought best to bury. I wasn't planning on harvesting any of them (four broad breasted (BB) and ten Black Heritage (BH) turkeys) and I have six chicken hens and one rooster as I invested as pets. I was not aware of the heart attacks the BB birds were prone to. I want to treat them humanely. Do you think the three remaining BB birds will live or are they genetically designed to harvest instead of keeping as pets? The BH birds have a skeletal structure much more like wild turkeys, and they are more lean and do not waddle when the walk. They're not as fat as the BB birds.
Thank you CluckerFamily. Please check the response to Bob R2Elk and respond if you want to. Thank you.
BBs are designed to be harvested before they are 6 months old. There are rare cases where people have managed to keep them alive for longer periods of time. I just came across a post about a member's 6 year old BBW. I have kept BBW hens until they were 3. Most people end up having to put them down before they are two years old because of leg or heart issues.
